


Pythacarus (Pythagoras' Past and Daedalus' Death/Looking Back At A Mixed Reaction/The Quarantine Calamity)

by bookdragonphoenix



Category: Atlantis (UK TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 17:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5214920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookdragonphoenix/pseuds/bookdragonphoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Icarus' use of Daedalus' fire powder to aid in his friends' escape from Atlantis, Pasiphae condemned the father to death in the brazen bull. When Cassandra informed him of his father's death, Icarus locked himself in his room; Pythagoras was the only one who could comfort him, but it would take revealing something from his past...<br/>+ 2 other chapters, one about thinking back at the reactions of the rest of the team about their relationship and the other, a cute drabble about Pythagoras being ill and quarantining himself, and Icarus getting really worried</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pythagoras' Past and Daedalus' Death

**Author's Note:**

> Set in AU where everything was the same apart from Pythagoras’ past with his brother and dad (because I forgot that plot line existed...oops!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Icarus' use of Daedalus' fire powder to aid in his friends' escape from Atlantis, Pasiphae condemned the father to death in the brazen bull. When Cassandra informed him of his father's death, Icarus locked himself in his room; Pythagoras was the only one who could comfort him, but it would take revealing something from his past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting - The heroes were staying in an inn near the port whilst they found a boat and enough supplies to last them over their journey to Colchis. Pythagoras and Jason had left to scout for a boat whilst the others lay low in the inn.

Screams echoed around the city square as they were amplified by the acoustics of the brazen bull, which housed the source of the commotion. A wooden sign told the literate stander-by that the convicted man was 'Daedalus, traitor to Atlantis'. Pasiphae, with her heavily scarred features, watched coldly on as the tortured man hoarsely screamed out his final breaths.

 

Cassandra stopped chanting and whipped up her bald head. She was no longer a stranger to violence; ever since she had begun her training to become an Oracle, her visions had steadily become more violent, especially when they included Pasiphae. She had, deep down, been expecting this but had kept her fears from her new friend. She couldn't, however, neglect telling Icarus of his father's untimely end and begrudgingly rose to tell him the grim news. She couldn't help noticing the small looks of fear which her companions tried to hide from her when they saw her disappearing into her room with her tools of divination, but she couldn't abandon her duty to the Gods. She certainly didn't enjoy being the bringer of, more often than not, bad news to her friends; however, not only was she an Oracle, but she owed it to Melas to continue in her sacred calling. The thought of her adoptive father brought her close to tears but she bit them back and went to find Icarus.

 

Hercules heard hurried footsteps and strangled sobs passed quickly by his door, followed by the slamming of a door and the closing of a latch. Poking his head out of the door to his room, he saw Cassandra staring sadly at the now locked door. 'What is it now?' he said tiredly, but not unkindly. Ariadne also appeared in the corridor and Cassandra gave them both the news of Daedalus' plight.

 

Approaching the door, from which there emanated the sound of sobbing, Hercules (followed silently by Ariadne) knocked hesitantly. 'Icarus? It's Hercules. Can I get you anything?'

'Please... Hercules... please leave me.' Begrudgingly, Hercules did as he was bid, as did Cassandra and Ariadne.

 

...

 

Through lunch and dinner, Icarus wept, refusing to leave the room he shared with Pythagoras. He would not accept food nor water, indeed, he would not open the door for anybody. After attempting to coax him out or even to get him to eat or drink something to no avail, Hercules and Ariadne convened in Hercules' room (whilst Cassandra was in her room communing with the Gods and praying for Daedalus' soul) to quietly worry about Icarus and wonder what, if anything, they could do to help their friend. 'Hercules, are you sure there is no way in which we can help him?'

'He knows that we all know what it's like to lose a father, but I fear that he has forgotten that we understand how he feels. I just wish that Pythagoras would return soon...'

 

...

 

It was dark by the time that Pythagoras and Jason returned, tired and hungry, from their day's work. On hearing the news of Daedalus, Pythagoras forgot about his hunger and hurried straight to the room that he was sharing with his lover; the others held back, leaving him to comfort his partner.

 

After hesitantly knocking, Pythagoras whispered searchingly, 'Icarus? Icarus? It's me, Pythagoras.' The sobs, if anything, became slightly louder and the door shook with their weight.

'Pythagoras... what a monster you must think me... I left my father... he was still weak from the beatings... I didn't even think about what would happen to him... I could've...' Pythagoras couldn't make out any more as it was drowned out by the sobbing of his lover.

'Icarus - please let me in. I can help you, comfort you... please...'

'How can you want to help me? How can you understand how I feel? What can you possibly do that can heal this?... I failed him...'

 

Pythagoras knew that there was only one way to make his partner let him in, let him help. He'd always run from it, tried not to face it because it was too painful... Now he would have to face up to his past.

 

After a long pause, he came up with the courage he needed and began to speak. 'I swear to you, Icarus, you are the only person I've told about this - not even Jason knows - but... I tell everyone that I was orphaned at birth... that I never knew my parents... it's easier, less painful, to pretend that I never knew them... then I never have to talk about them... Icarus...' Pythagoras let out a choked sob. He had been talking quietly before, but now it was a whisper, 'Icarus... I watched my father die...'

 

Muffled scuffling could be heard on the other side of the door and then the latch was raised. The door opened ever so slightly and then Pythagoras could see Icarus' face: his eyes wide in concern and sadness and brimming with tears, his floppy hair which only partly covered his face, and his lips, which his lover could never kiss enough, quivering with emotion. He invited Pythagoras into the room and closed the door and latch behind him. They fell into each others arms and just stood there, holding each other, for what seemed like an eternity.

 

Pythagoras started whispering his story into Icarus' hair and, once he started, the words flowed out of him like a flood. He confirmed that, yes, it was true, his mother did die in childbirth, but his father, well, his father wasn't so lucky.

 

His father had lovingly raised him, encouraging him to enquire into the world around him and see beauty in how everything worked. He was told of how he had inherited his mother's kindness and how her last words had been words of pure love for her only son. His father told him of the day they had met, both of them servants at the palace, and, despite their seeming poverty, they had been wealthy in the love they had shared. He was told of the day that he was born, where, it seemed, his mother had died in his birth, how her death had resulted in a 'miracle'. He had loved his father with a child's love for both his mother and his father, which made it doubly hard to lose him...

 

Pythagoras had been so distracted by his father's challenges to further his learning that he had not noticed his father's illness until it was too late. It had been the paling sickness. It had been slowly consuming him for months but Pythagoras had never noticed; indeed, he didn't notice until the wool was forced from his eyes in the most terrible way. His father had simply fallen whilst retrieving something, he didn't remember what, from the top shelf. The fall had caused him to dislocate his shoulder, which was simple enough to fix, but Pythagoras had only been a small boy of ten and it had scared him dearly, so he fetched the doctor. It was easy enough for the doctor to fix his father's shoulder but, on examining his patient, the doctor had found some seriously developed signs of the paling sickness which his father had been hiding, believing that they were nothing.

 

The fall had weakened him, however, and it was not long before he was dismissed from his manual job at the palace due to the reducing range of movement in his arm. He managed to find a number of small jobs after this but the range of what he could do was decreasing as he developed more and more of the symptoms. The young Pythagoras had tried to gain his father's old job at the palace but that, and numerous other jobs, were refused to him as few wanted to use the work of a scrawny ten year old boy. As his father's condition deteriorated, he continued to care for him, never giving up in his search for a cure. But it was to no avail.

 

On his father's death, Pythagoras had been distraught, unable to comprehend how life had treated him, but the world refused to wait for him to grieve. Him and his father's lack of jobs had left them penniless, with money collectors arriving day after day to take more of his father's precious possessions. He ended up losing the room which they had kept, along with its contents, and was left to live on the street. Cold, hungry and friendless, he was often taunted and physically abused by others but was too small to react and too lost to want to try to.

 

Luckily for him, it was at this time that Hercules returned home to Atlantis. The old friend of his father recognised him due to his resemblance to his parents and determined to care for him. His father's death and the taunting he was later faced with resulted in Pythagoras having dreadful and vivid nightmares of his father's tortured soul along with a number of the beatings he had received at the hands of others. Hercules had always been there when he had woken up screaming to comfort him - mainly he would slowly stroke Pythagoras' hair to relax him so that he could fall back asleep. Hercules could never replace his father but they had developed a strong friendship.

 

'I swear to you, Icarus, that I will always be there to comfort you no matter what, because… because I know what it's like to need that comfort.' During the time that Pythagoras had been talking, Icarus had nestled back in his lover's arms in order to watch his face. Silent tears were running down both of their cheeks.

 

'I... I'm sorry, I never knew... Thank you...' And then the most magical thing happened. Through all the tears and all the heartbreak, a small smile, it was very small but a smile nonetheless, found its way onto Pythagoras' lips. He whispered,

'Gods, I love you, did you know that? And I will never stop loving you. Don't you ever say that I can't love you, because it's not true.' And with that he gently pressed his lips to Icarus'.

 

Holding each other for comfort, and softly stroking each other's hair, Pythagoras and Icarus lay down in each other's arms and slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Looking Back At A Mixed Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pythagoras remembered back to when he and Icarus had told the rest of the group about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting - On the Argo

When Pythagoras awoke, Icarus was still asleep next to him. Pythagoras smiled as his lover let out a snore before returning to breathing loudly. He loved it like this, how they could just lie together, at peace with each other and the world; it was at moments like this that he could forget about the challenges that life was throwing at them and just be content. But, for once, this did not seem to happen and his mind wandered back to when they had first made camp after fleeing from Atlantis...

 

Even though they had escaped from the city at night, they had not slept until the next night, wanting to get as far away from Atlantis as possible before having to set up camp and rest. The group had been so exhausted that they had silently eaten a quick supper before going straight to sleep. The brisk pace of that first day had left little breath for talking and so it was not until the next day that the group were really able to talk together. Over breakfast, Icarus had explained his father's arrest and tried to make the others understand why he had betrayed them. His actions of risking his life by flying in to save them had made the others trust him more, however, they had still been reticent to fully trust him. It was then that Pythagoras and Icarus had told the group about their relationship.

 

The first person to express their views had been Ariadne - Pythagoras knew that he would never forget her reaction. Ariadne had gasped loudly and jumped up before backing away from them. She had shouted, calling him and Icarus labels such as 'unnatural' and 'wrong'. Pythagoras had not been altogether surprised; her father, Minos, had persecuted homosexuals, actively employing a group of soldiers to hunt them down so that they could be publicly executed. Ariadne hadn't continued her father's tradition and Pythagoras had hoped that this was due to her not sharing his views, but plainly her opinions hadn't been so different from her father's. Luckily, Jason had taken Ariadne aside and, whatever he had said to her, had somewhat changed her reaction. After her conversation with Jason, Ariadne had apologised, however, Pythagoras could see that her opinions had not been altogether changed. She had proceeded to be uneasy whenever she saw the couple together and, if they showed any sign of affection for each other, she would turn away or, at least, avert her eyes.

 

Jason had claimed to accept them as a couple, saying that homosexuals were accepted by most people in the country that he had grown up in. His actions seemed to suggest otherwise at first, however, as he had blushed deeply when Pythagoras had moved near him or accidentally touched him the first couple of times. This had lead Pythagoras to explain to his friend that, just because he was gay, it didn't mean that he fancied all men: he was in love with Icarus and that was what mattered. Despite this mostly calming Jason's uneasiness, he was still not completely at ease when he saw the couple kissing, which slightly vexed Pythagoras.

 

Hercules had not been surprised; he had, after all, found them kissing after Icarus had been shot out of the sky. He had expressed his congratulations for the couple finally getting together and teased them by saying that he had known that they had liked each other for months and had been waiting for one of them to get up the courage to make a move. It was obvious that Hercules was glad for Pythagoras having found love and happiness, however, sometimes, when he thought they weren't looking, he would sadly stare at them, along with at Jason and Ariadne, and it was obvious that he was thinking of Medusa. Pythagoras had attempted numerous times to broach the subject with his friend but he had refused to talk of it; he said that Pythagoras shouldn't waste his time thinking on his unhappiness but on his own newly found happiness.

 

It was always hard to gauge Cassandra's opinions about anything as, for the most part, she kept herself to herself. When she had heard their news she had not shown surprise, however, Pythagoras had noticed her casting wondering looks at him and Icarus since they had fled the city and so he guessed that she had seen them together in a vision. She did not seem to judge them, but to simply have a little curiosity about the couple. When Pythagoras had found himself alone with her, he had asked her, expressing the importance of how she didn't have to answer if she didn’t wish to, of what she felt about his relationship. She had simply said, 

'In my training, I was required to study the ways of our ancestors; indeed, a number of our previous kings were homosexuals. It is curious that you are not more accepted.'

 

Over the next few weeks, the couple had watched as the other members of their group had adjusted somewhat to their new dynamic. At the inn they had stayed in, the patron had only had very small rooms which were meant for one or two people - Hercules, who had been in charge of booking the rooms, had insisted that both of the couples had a room to themselves as, as he put it, they could be separated on any day and so they deserved to be together for now. (Cassandra, of course, would be allowed to have a room to herself.) Ariadne had been about to protest when Jason had expressed that Hercules had a point and that the rooms were already booked now anyway. She still, however, eyed them suspiciously as they entered their room.

 

Time passed, however, and Ariadne appeared to put her uneasiness aside when she heard of Daedalus' death, proving to a relieved Pythagoras that she still cared for them as her friends. It appeared that she had seen how much they really meant to each other and how they really made each other happy. After they had sold the jewels that Ariadne had managed to take from the palace, and bought a ship and enough supplies to last them on their voyage to Colchis, she had made no objections to the couple sharing a room on the ship. Pythagoras was glad that they had been able to put their differences aside; it was hard enough already, being cooped up on a ship with the others, without one of them being completely awkward around him and his partner who made up a third of the ship between them (well, two fifths once they had dropped Cassandra off on the island of Delphi - the place of origin of the Oracles).

 

Icarus had awoken to find Pythagoras lost in thought. He had intently stared at him, revelling in the knowledge that he wouldn’t have to leave him as Pythagoras felt the same way that he did. He could hardly remember now the time when his feelings had shifted and he’d been confused about what it was that he really felt for Pythagoras; strong friendship or something more. It had taken months for him to even admit to himself what it was that he was really feeling, but now he couldn't remember not knowing or loving Pythagoras; his memories were eclipsed by the intense love of the present.

 

He was infinitely relieved that Pythagoras had forgiven him and that they had finally confessed their love for each other; those agonising months of not being sure if Pythagoras felt the same way and not having the courage to ask him or confess his feelings had been worse than Tartarus for him. Worse still were the intense feelings of guilt and shame but, most of all, the loss and heartbreak when Pythagoras had said that he would never forgive him and he had felt as if his whole world was crumbling around him. Icarus grinned as he remembered that first kiss they had shared after he had fallen out of the sky and how, after that moment, his life had felt as if it was dazzling with light.

 

As Pythagoras broke out of his trance, he noticed Icarus staring and turned his gaze to his lover, returning his smile.

'Good morning, sleepy head' he said, ruffling Icarus’ hair before laying his hand to rest against his boyfriend’s cheek.

'Good morning, daydreamer' Icarus replied, planting a soft kiss on his partner's lips.


	3. The Quarantine Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Icarus woke up to find that Pythagoras had quarantined himself in the bottom of the boat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting - still on the Argo

Icarus had awoken to find himself alone as his lover had been replaced by a note which had been neatly pencilled in his elegant hand. As soon as Icarus had finished reading it, he had sprinted straight out of their room and not stopped until he had found himself outside the door to a storage room in the very bottom of the boat. He had tried opening the door, only to find that it had been bolted from the inside.

'Pythagoras?' He called in a panicked voice, searching for the comforting voice of his lover.

'I'm here, Icarus, don't worry...'

'Don't worry? How can I do anything but worry? I woke up to find you gone and a note saying you were ill!' Pythagoras sighed.

'Icarus, calm down. I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to be right here. I just noticed a couple of symptoms I had when I woke up and thought it logical to isolate myself just in case I had what I think I have - it could be contagious. I can't be going around making everyone else ill as well, can I? What sort of a friend would I be? Plus, we need at least two people to sail this ship at any given time and if I make anyone else ill then we'll be even more hard pushed than we already are to keep this ship sailing and have enough sleep at the same time.' Pythagoras was rambling, trying not to worry Icarus but he was having exactly the opposite effect.

'Pythagoras, what do you think you have?'

'Well... I don't want you doing anything stupid... how about this? I'll only tell you if you promise not to try to open this door...'

'Damn it, Pythagoras!... Fine! What is it? Please tell me you're going to be alright.' After taking a large breath, Pythagoras replied.

'I think I have the shivering sickness.'

 

...

 

Over the next couple of days, Hercules, Jason and Ariadne had tried to keep Icarus busy in order to try to distract him from his lover's suffering, but he never once stopped worrying. He knew they meant well but all he wanted to do was see his lover again. Pythagoras wouldn’t even let him stay outside the door, so, whilst he took his partner food and drink (and anything else he might need) which he posted under the door, he could never talk to him for more than a minute before he was shooed away for fear that he might catch the illness. He also knew that this too was due to Pythagoras' best interests but it was having detrimental effects on Icarus.

 

Not only was he faced with worrying about his lover, but also his own loneliness. Worry kept him awake at night, with it rarely allowing him many hours of sleep, and it weighed heavily on his mind, whatever he was trying to do, in the day too. Then there was the fact that he couldn't be with Pythagoras. This, too, hindered his ability to sleep, with him just lying there alone in their room wishing that his lover was beside him. Hercules tried to comfort him, but his hugs could never get anywhere near replacing the touch of his lover. He yearned for it, feeling as if he was lost, like a small rowing boat in the middle of a vast ocean, needing Pythagoras' arms to anchor him to reality and to keep him safe.

 

He ate little, and the mixture of this and sleep deprivation was making his mental state worse. Despite the efforts of his three friends, he felt alone, and the slight assurance of hearing his lover for brief moments through the door were never enough. And then more often, when he went to bring things to Pythagoras, would his lover be asleep so that he couldn't even talk to him. Everything just combined and worked together to make Icarus more and more troubled. Every day that went by he could bear it less and less, like he was a candle whose wax was slowly burning away until there was nothing left. Every day he'd tell himself that tomorrow would be the day when Pythagoras would be better but it seemed to him like that day was never going to come. 

 

And then, after about two weeks, he descended to the bottom of the boat to find that his lover hadn't moved the food or water from right under the door where he had left them on his previous visit. When he called insistently, Pythagoras never replied. This was more than Icarus could take. He decided that Pythagoras' caution could go to Tartarus - he would save Pythagoras even if it made him ill - he would save Pythagoras even if it cost him his life.

 

Icarus unscrewed the door from its hinges and slowly lifted it away from its frame for fear that, if he kicked it down, it might fall on his lover. To his horror, Icarus found Pythagoras lying pale on a bed, with large purple hollows for eyes. Moving closer, he found that, despite his body being covered with a sheen of sweat, his partner's skin was deadly cold and he was shivering uncontrollably. Grabbing the blankets which he had posted under the door earlier, but which seemed to have been discarded, he used one to cover Pythagoras' shivering body whilst he used the other to slightly prop up his head and shoulders.

 

When Pythagoras finally regained consciousness, Icarus brushed his damp hair back off his face before slowly helping him to eat some soup and drink a little water. After this, Pythagoras tried to speak but Icarus hushed him, telling him to get some rest and promising that he would still be there when he awoke. Lying back into the blankets, as he hadn't enough energy to resist, Pythagoras drifted back off into unconsciousness whilst an aware Icarus kept a silent vigil by his bedside. Occasionally Icarus would nap lightly on the floor next to Pythagoras' bed, but he would always awake at the slightest sound in case it should be his lover needing his help.

 

...

 

This pattern continued for a number of days and, after two days of Icarus caring for him, Pythagoras had the strength to stay conscious just a little longer and finally speak to his partner. He thanked Icarus for helping him, acknowledging that, had his lover not risked illness by breaking in to save him, he might very well have been dead by now. Icarus replied by saying that he would have done the same for him. After a long pause, he admitted that he had never realised quite how much it was possible for him to love another person and that he had been shocked to realise quite how big a part of his life Pythagoras had become. He also expressed how being without him for so long had left him feeling empty, as if it was Pythagoras that completed him. His lover would have replied but his energy was already waning and he could feel himself being pulled by the tendrils of unconsciousness.

 

When Pythagoras next awoke, he was able to reply to his lover's earlier statement. He told him of how the last two weeks had been some of the most difficult of his life, and not primarily due to the illness. He had felt himself weakening and yet all he could think about was the feel of his hand intertwined with Icarus', the feel of their hands in each other's hair and, most of all, the feel of Icarus when they held each other. It had taken all his strength not to call out for his lover, but he had known this was a selfish desire and been determined not to do so for fear of making Icarus ill too.

 

As Pythagoras got stronger, Icarus began to feel the first symptoms in himself. Due to this he had discarded the space they had kept between them and climbed onto the bed to lie with his lover. The comfort they had both felt was overwhelming; it was more than that, it was all-consuming. It felt like an eternity had passed since they had last held each other and in doing so they completed each other. Icarus made Pythagoras promise not to pull a stunt like that ever again without taking him with him, but Pythagoras went one better; he promised never to leave Icarus voluntarily ever again and Icarus more than gladly returned the promise.

 

After a number of days, Pythagoras had made a full recovery and was more than happy to return his lover's favour by nursing him back to health, too. As Icarus had replaced the door after entering, the others had only been able to bring the couple food and water and had been unable to see how ill they really were. When Icarus felt he had recovered, it took little from Pythagoras to persuade him that he may still be infectious for another day and so the couple spent the day lying in each other's arms, chatting and safe in the knowledge that one would never have to leave the other's side for the rest of their life.


End file.
